Interesting update to the story about GM's CEO Mary Barra saying that GM would remove CarPlay and Android Auto support for gas vehicles, as it has in its EVs:
We are not making any changes to existing vehicles. If your car supports Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, that will continue. Both will remain available in all GM gas-powered vehicles for the foreseeable future. As we advance toward our centralized computing platform, we’ll gradually move to a better, more deeply integrated experience — a direction the broader industry is taking as vehicles become more software-defined. This will happen over time, not overnight. We value our collaboration with Apple and Google and remain focused on delivering experiences customers love.
First, the fact that this update was given shows that there was more blowback to this than intended. But it ultimately isn't changing what was said: they will move all their vehicles in this direction, just not immediately.
The quote above also puts forward the false premise that those are mutually exclusive options—that GM must offer either its "deeply integrated experience" or CarPlay. In fact, I recently bought a new Toyota truck, and it has its own (pretty good) experience and CarPlay, and I can choose which works best for me in any given cirumstances. I use the truck's systems for off-road data and controls among other things, and CarPlay for maps, podcasts, music, etc. (all with apps that GM won't have on its platform). GM doesn't want to offer CarPlay next to their own experience, not because they can't, but because they know that people want the apps that are on their phones, not GM's.
Once GM gets its users stuck on its platform, it can monetize them in some way other than just selling them a car they like. It's a similar story as the previous one about Apple: they want more, and this is how they can get there.
GM to Remove CarPlay from All Future Vehicles, Including Gas Cars [Updated]
General Motors began phasing out support for CarPlay in its electric vehicles back in 2023, leading to complaints from iPhone users, but the company has no plans to back down. In fact, GM is going further and plans to remove CarPlay from all future gas vehicles, too. In an interview with The Verge, GM CEO Mary Barra said that the company opted to prioritize its platform for EVs, but the change will eventually expand across the entire GM portfolio.